1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processor having a page turning function and a method of turning pages of data, and more particularly, to a data processor having a page turning function for efficiently turning pages according to the attributes of data in the pages and a method of efficiently turning pages of data according to the attributes of the data.
2. Description of the Related Art
A data processor manages a plurality of data units, extracts a data unit in a required page, and displays the extracted data unit. The data processor must efficiently extract any one of the data units according to the attributes of the data units.
A conventional data processor has a previous page key and a next page key to control a plurality of data units. A user manipulates the previous page key to extract a data unit in one of the pages behind the present page and the next page key to extract a data unit in one of the pages in front of the present page. Namely, the user uses the previous page key to sequentially turn the pages in a backward direction to specify a required data unit in one of the pages, and the next page key to sequentially turn the pages in a forward direction to specify a required data unit in one of the pages. The specified data unit is displayed.
The conventional data processor is incapable of efficiently turning pages among a plurality of data sets each containing a plurality of data units of different kinds, among a plurality of data groups each containing a plurality of data units of the same kind, among copies of a set of different data units, or among a plurality of groups each containing copies of a data unit.
Among a plurality of data sets each containing a plurality of data units of different kinds, it is frequently requested to jump to a data unit in a page that is nearest to and behind or in front of the present page. In this case, the prior art must sequentially turn pages one by one to reach the data unit. Further, among a plurality of data groups each containing a plurality of data units of the same kind, the prior art is frequently requested to jump to a data unit that is different from the present data unit and in a page nearest to and behind or in front of the present page. In this case, the prior art must sequentially turn pages one by one to reach the data unit.
In addition, among copies of a set of different data units, it is frequently requested to jump to a data unit that is the same as the present data unit and in a page nearest to and behind or in front of the present page. In this case, the prior art must sequentially turn pages one by one to reach the data unit. Further, among a plurality of groups each containing copies of a data unit, it is frequently requested to jump to a data unit that is different from the present data unit and in a page nearest to and behind or in front of the present page. In this case, the prior art must sequentially turn pages one by one to reach the data unit.